Chapter 49

Chapter 49

***

This meal was probably the liveliest meal Xu Lian had ever had in Xiang ChangKong’s home. Not only was Xiang Nuan more talkative than usual, but even Weng ShuLi, who had never said a single word before, spoke a few words.

The food satisfied everyone. After dinner, Xiang Nuan took the initiative to run towards the kitchen to wash the dishes. Weng ShuLi, in line with her usual schedule, went back to her room to sleep. In the end, Xu Lian and Xiang ChangKong were left in the living room together.

Xiang ChangKong picked up an orange and once again asked Xu Lian: “Do you want to eat one?”

Xu Lian looked at the orange he was holding. It was yellow and seemed quite sweet. Xu Lian simply smiled in response to his question. Xiang ChangKong smiled back, then began to peel the orange for her. Xiang ChangKong had plenty of experience in wielding the knives, so peeling an orange was easy for him. The orange peel slowly elongated, until finally, the orange was peeled in a single, unbroken stroke. The sweet smell of the orange soon permeates the air.

Xiang ChangKong peeled two oranges, placed them on a fruit plate, then pushed the plate towards Xu Lian.

Xu Lian looked at the plate, then picked up a slice. It was as sweet as she imagined it to be.

After eating the orange, Xu Lian wiped her hands on a paper towel and said: “I have to go back to the shop. I’ll be leaving first.”

Xiang ChangKong didn’t expect her to leave so soon. Stunned, he subconsciously said: “Don’t you want to sit and rest for a little while longer?”

“No, I went abroad recently, so I have a long list of orders I need to catch up on.” Xu Lian stood up and put her bag on her shoulder. Xiang ChangKong followed her and also stood up. After a moment, he said: “Then I’ll send you downstairs.”

“Un.”

They went out together. When they walked out of the kitchen doorway, Xiang Nuan saw them and asked: “Brother, are you going out with Sister Xu Lian?”

Xiang ChangKong changed into a pair of shoes and called out: “Yes, I’m sending her down.”

“Oh, alright!” Xiang Nuan didn’t forget that when her brother sent Xu Lian back last time, he didn’t come back until the next day!

Xiang ChangKong knew what she was thinking, but he could only awkwardly turn and open the front door for Xu Lian. He told her: “Let’s go.”

The two had passed this narrow corridor many times, but this was the first time Xiang ChangKong had felt so awkward. Xu Lian didn’t speak, and Xiang ChangKong was busy struggling to find an interesting topic to break this atmosphere. But before he could think of anything, Xu Lian, who had been walking beside him, suddenly tilted and fell onto him. Shocked, Xiang ChangKong steadied her and asked: “Are you alright?”

Xiang ChangKong put a hand on her waist and looked down. They were so close together that Xiang ChangKong could feel her breath.

Xu Lian that felt the hand on her waist was boiling hot. She quickly straightened and said: “It’s nothing. I just twisted my foot a little.”

Xiang ChangKong released his hold on her but was still a little uneasy. “Ah…the heels of your shoes are high. Be careful when you walk.”

“Un.”

After this brief episode, the two continued to walk downstairs in silence. However, Xu Lian felt that she could hear a thundering heartbeat during their entire journey to her car. She didn’t know who’s heartbeat it was.

Xu Lian got in her car, while Xiang ChangKong stood outside and watched her fasten her seatbelt. He raised his hand and tapped on her window. Xu Lian lowered the window and asked: “Is there anything else?”

Xiang ChangKong smiled and said: “I’ll still bring you a meal tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

“Drive carefully and take breaks during work.”

“I know.” Xu Lian adjusted the position of her seatbelt, deliberately avoiding Xiang ChangKong’s gaze. “Study well.”

Xiang ChangKong’s smile deepened, and he nodded. “Yes, I study every day.”

“That’s good. I’ll be leaving then.” Xu Lian closed her car window and drove away.

As she left the gates of his neighborhood, Xu Lian breathed out a sigh. She didn’t know if it was because she just hadn’t been so close to Xiang ChangKong in a while, but…a simple hand on her waist actually caused her to go soft. When Xiang ChangKong leaned towards the window to talk to her, his proximity made her heart thump loudly.

When she was in high school, al;l her fellow classmates would say that she was frigid. Even Wei YiChen once told her that she had a cold personality…now, she wants to tell each and every one of them: You were wrong!

Xiang ChangKong stood on the basketball court until Xu Lian’s car was no longer in his sights. When he arrived back home, Xiang Nuan was very surprised. “Brother? Did you forget something?”

“….” Xiang ChangKong changed back into some slippers and said: “I said I was sending her downstairs.”

“So?”

“Well, she’s gone already, so I came back, ah.”

“…” Xiang Nuan was speechless. Eventually, she managed to choke out: “Brother, is your body alright?”

Xiang ChangKong: “….”

Xiang Nuan saw his expression and tried to encourage him: “It doesn’t matter! There will be plenty of opportunities in the future!”

Xiang ChangKong: “….”

Although Xiang Nuan had seen him and Xu Lian kiss before, Xiang ChangKong was sure he hadn’t taught her these kinds of things before.

“After washing the dishes, come and bring your test papers to my room.” Xiang ChangKong dropped this sentence, then walked to his room.

Xiang Nuan: “….”

The following week, Xing ChangKong brought lunch to Xu Lian every day. On Friday, he had wanted to ask Xu Lian to have dinner in their home, but he suddenly got a call from their landlord.

The landlord said they received news that their old building was set to be demolished by the city and that Xiang ChangKong could no longer rent the place. In the end, the landlord asked that he find another play to stay as soon as possible.

The rental contract Xiang ChangKong had signed hadn’t expired yet, so the landlord said that they would compensate them for the remaining rent amount. This type of demolition wasn’t anything uncommon, and Xiang ChangKong didn’t want to put their landlord in an awkward position. So, in the end, he agreed. When Xiang ChangKong went home that day, he heard some of his neighbors talking about the impending demolition. Auntie Liu from next door stopped him and asked if he knew about it.

Xiang ChangKong nodded in reply and told her about his conversation with their landlord. Auntie Liu had a pretty good impression on Xiang ChangKong and Xiang Nuan, so she offered to help them look for a new place. Xiang ChangKong thanked her, then went home.

Inside, Weng ShuLi had also heard the rumblings of trouble. So when Xiang ChangKong arrived, she immediately asked about the situation.

“Mother, you don’t need to worry. I’ll find us another place to rent.”

Since Xiang ChangKong said this, Weng ShuLi didn’t ask again. Anyway, there should be plenty of other rental houses in the market.

There were several houses available, but after looking at many different apartments for several days, Xiang ChangKong felt unsatisfied. Either the rent was too expensive, or the house was too far away. While he was still looking, Xu Lian took the initiative to send him a message.

Xu Lian: Are you studying right now?

This was the first time Xu Lian had ever texted him since they broke up. These five words instantly cleared the fog in Xiang ChangKong’s heart.

Xiang ChangKong: I’m looking for a house. The place we’re currently living in is about to get demolished, so we have to move.

Xu Lian: When are they demolishing it? Have you found a place yet?

Xiang ChangKong: Not yet. We’re not in any real hurry. Our landlord said we can move anytime before the end of this month.

Xu Lian had a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked down at her phone. She texted: Alright. Concentrate on your studies; I’ll help you find a place.

Xiang ChangKong chuckled. It seems that she’s apprehensive about his studies. Truthfully, while he previously told Xu Lian that the postgraduate exam questions would be simple, the exam wasn’t that easy.

Xiang ChangKong: Well, I’ll be troubling you. ^_^

Xu Lian raised a brow. So Xiang ChangKong uses emojis now.

Xu Lian closed the messaging app, opened her computer, then went into a house rental website.

She had never rented a house before, so this would be the first time she ever visited this type of website. It wasn’t long before the never-ending houses, and dense words gave her a headache. In the end, she thought about it and narrowed the search down to her neighborhood.

She really found one. What’s more, it was in the same neighborhood as her.

Xu Lian dialed the number on the website and briefly chatted with the landlord.

Just as Xiang ChangKong was about to sleep, he received another message from Xu Lian: I found a house in central.

Xiang ChangKong delivered plenty of orders in Starlight Park, and what’s more, Xu Lian lived in the district. So he was plenty familiar with the real estate there.

Xiang ChangKong: Where you live?

Xu Lian: Yes. Building 6, 2102.

Building 6, 2102. Looking at these numbers, an image of the building immediately popped up in Xiang ChangKong’s head. The apartments in Building 6 were two-bedroom, one-room houses. It was very different from the high-rise villa apartment that Xu Lian had in Building 8. Building 8 was a tall building with two elevators and 311 apartments. But while Building 6 couldn’t compare,

Building 6 wasn’t next to the main street and had a garden and pavilions in front.

Xiang ChangKong: Your neighborhood is quite expensive, isn’t it?

Xu Lian: I’ve already talked with the landlord. The price is ok. The place is well decorated and already has all kinds of household appliances.

Xu Lian: And I’m nearby. I can take care of your mother if anything happens in the future.

Xu Lian seriously thought about it. When Xiang ChangKong moves out in the future, it would be worrisome to have Auntie Weng live alone. If Auntie Weng lived in a safe community nearby, they could keep an eye on her and visit her.

Xiang ChangKong: Are you voluntarily tying yourself to me? You’re already planning our future cohabitation plans?

Xu Lian: “….”

I thought he had a high IQ, ah? Haven’t he ever heard of the phrase ‘even if you see through their intentions, don’t lay it bare’?

Xu Lian was in the middle of being embarrassed when Xiang ChangKong called her. Xu Lian listened to her phone ring for a long while, then picked up: “What is it?”

Xiang ChangKong’s silky voice sounded from the phone speaker as he chuckled. Unexpectedly, it sounded extremely sweet to Xu Lian.

Xiang ChangKong said: “It’s nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

Xu Lian felt her ears start to burn. She pretended not to hear his words and said: “The landlord said you can go see the house at any time. If you like it, then you don’t have to worry about the rent. I can pay part of it.”

The other end of the phone was quiet for a while. In the end, Xiang ChangKong sighed and said: “Xu Lian. Do you really intend to keep me?”

(T/N: Keep me as in a mistress sort of way. Like Xiang ChangKong is a ‘kept man.’)

Xu Lian promptly replied: “This, this is just me investing in my country’s aviation industry. You have to repay me in the future, ah.”

Low laughter came out from her phone. Xiang ChangKong didn’t say anything else, so Xu Lian continued: “Are you going to look at the place?”

“Un. I’ll go tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright. I’ll tell the landlord.”

After the matter was finalized, the conversation went quiet. Xu Lian was trying to think of a way to end the call when Xiang ChangKong whispered softly: “Xu Lian, I really want to kiss you right now.”

Xu Lian’s grip on her phone unconsciously tightened. Her mouth flattened, and she said: “Don’t think you can act like a rouge over the phone. I still haven’t forgiven you, ah.”

Then she quickly ended the call.

Her heart was beating fast, as if every word Xiang ChangKong had just said was a kiss on her body.

The author has something to say:

In the next chapter, an important supporting character will step onto the stage once more. They can’t wait any longer…

After all, it’s been ages since we’ve seen them, ah…

Also-

Readers who have read my previous books must think that this novel doesn’t feel like any of my earlier works. This novel was an attempt of mine. Although the attempt wasn’t very successful since there are fewer readers this time…

When I wrote this novel, I wasn’t in a very good state of mind because my income isn’t in a good place. As a full-time author who lives on contributions, I’ve always lived with the anxiety of starving [covers face]

Especially when I started the mother storyline. Readers would leave messages saying, ‘I hate this mother so much. I’m abandoning this story’ or ‘I really can’t stand this mother. I’ll see you in the next story’.

In the end, I couldn’t write the mother storyline in detail and had to abandon that thread. I thought that if I wrote this arc slowly, there would only be a few readers left in the end.

I’ve been rethinking my position lately. My friends say that short novels are beginning to drop out of the current online trend. It’s true that stories nowadays are getting longer and longer. I’ve been writing books that have 200,000 words, but I can’t even make it to most of the lists in jjwxc.

I wanted to adjust my situation, so I opened another quick transmigration novel if you want to have a look.

Finally, I want to thank all the readers who have been following this story. It’s only because you’re still subscribed to this novel that I keep updating. Thank you very much QAQ